System and method to communicate drain cleaning benefits to consumers

ABSTRACT

A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover, the packaging system having: (a) a container; and (b) a product label. The product label includes indicia depicting at least three steps in a drain clog removal process. The three steps may be selected from the group consisting of: an initialization step, an activation step, a contact step, and a removal step.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a container for dispensing a liquid drain-cleaning product.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE A broad range of drain cleaning products exists in the art. Examples of commonly available drain cleaning products include liquid drain cleaners, such as the Drano® product (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, Wis.), pipe snakes, barbed extension rods, and the like. These products are commonly available for retail sale through grocery stores, convenience stores, mega-marts, and other retail outlets.

Each drain cleaning product may include various combinations of qualities, features, and/or characteristics that may improve the performance, efficacy, and means of operation, etc. of that product. Many of the qualities in certain products, such as the pipe snakes or other manual cleaning devices, may be inspected by the consumer in order to gain some understanding of how that particular device will operate. Other products such as liquid drain cleaners, however, are not similarly open to such inspection. Inspecting the liquid state of such drain cleaners prior to use typically does not indicate or otherwise inform the user of how the drain cleaner actually works to remove clogs. Additionally, the effect of the liquid drain cleaner is typically noticeable only after it has been discharged into a drain pipe, and therefore is not readily observable by the user. Clearly, these liquid drain cleaning products operate in a “black box” such that there is no way possible for a user to visualize, or even imagine, how this product will work.

Certain television commercials have featured a clog within a clear S-bend or other portion of a simulated drain pipe. Further, labels on containers of liquid drain cleaner have shown cross sectional views which simulate the overall effect of a drain cleaner going through the pipe or showing a free flowing drain. However, such product packaging has become commonplace to consumers and does not drive excitement or recognition when presented on a shelf in a retail environment. The “at-shelf” appearance of a liquid drain cleaner is especially crucial because the consumer typically decides which liquid drain cleaners to purchase in the store as he or she reviews the products on display, rather than selecting a product prior to arriving at the store. As such, the consumers may be in a hurry to read product descriptions or may be otherwise incapable of reading such descriptions, and therefore the appearance of packaging may significantly influence the consumer's product selection. As a result, there exists a need for an improved packaging for liquid drain cleaning products which effectively communicates to the consumer a mode of operation, quality, feature and/or characteristic of the product prior to purchase.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a first non-limiting embodiment, a packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover is provided having: (a) a container; and (b) a product label. The product label presents a consumer with at least three steps in a drain clog removal process. The three steps may be selected from the group consisting of: an initialization step, an activation step, a contact step, and a removal step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of specific nonlimiting embodiments of the present disclosure can be best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structures are indicated with like reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a first exemplary embodiment of a packaging system for a drain clog remover.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a second exemplary embodiment of a packaging system for a drain clog remover.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a packaging system for a drain clog remover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Drain Cleaner

In some embodiments, a viscoelastic, thickened cleaning composition is provided. Exemplary cleaning compositions may be those for use in the drain (“drain cleaning compositions” or “drain cleaners”) such as the Drano® product (S.C. Johnson & Son, Racine, Wis.).

In some non-limiting embodiments, a drain cleaner may provide benefits on the basis of having a favorable viscoelastic rheology. It is thought that by providing a viscoelastic thickened drain cleaning composition which is phase-stable during normal conditions, and also when stored at relatively high or low temperatures, provides consumers with a highly effective composition.

In certain other embodiments, it is thought that there may be benefits to providing a stable thickened hypochlorite composition which provides a favorable viscoelastic rheology, even at relatively high, or low, ionic strengths.

A non-limiting example of a composition that has a stable cleaning composition with a viscoelastic rheology is an aqueous solution having: (a) an active cleaning compound; (b) a betaine or sulfobetaine having a C₁₄₋₁₈ alkyl group, or a C₁₀₋₁₈ alkylamino or alkylamido group; and (c) an anionic organic counterion.

One of skill in the art may appreciate that the cleaning composition may consist of a variety of chemically, physically or enzymatically reactive active ingredients, including solvents, acids, bases, oxidants, reducing agents, enzymes, detergents and thioorganic compounds. In some embodiments, viscoelasticity may be imparted to the cleaning composition by a binary system including a betaine or sulfobetaine having a C₁₄₋₁₈ alkyl group, or a C₁₀₋₁₈ alkylaminoor alkylamido group, and an anionic organic counterion.

In some embodiments, viscosity of the drain cleaning formulations can range from slightly greater than that of water, to several thousand centipoise (cP). In other embodiments, the viscosity range is from about 20 cP to about 1000 cP, from about 50 cP to about 500 cP. It is thought that by providing a composition with these properties, the composition may be utilized by pouring an appropriate amount into a clogged drain. The viscoelastic thickener acts to hold the active components together, allowing the solution to travel through standing water with very little dilution. The viscoelastic thickener also yields increased percolation times through porous or partial clogs, affording longer reaction times to enhance clog removal. The long relaxation times increase consumer acceptance of the product, and the shear-thinning simplifies filling and dispensing.

Packaging System

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments a packaging system 110 may include a container 120 and a product label 130.

The container 120 is provided in such a way that it may contain, and safely store over a period of time, a liquid drain cleaning product (not shown). The container 120 may take on any manner of conventional packaging, such as a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) container. A detailed description thereof is not necessary for the purpose of understanding the present disclosure.

The container 120 includes an external surface 122 that may be opaque in certain embodiments. The external surface may have one or more product labels 130 affixed thereto. The product label 130 may include product information, advertisements, promotional language, pictures and/or photographs, and the like. For example, the product label 130 in FIG. 1 provides an image of water rushing down a drain opening in a sink in addition to brand information and regulatory requirements. Alternatively, the product label 230 in FIG. 2 provides an image of a foaming drain clog remover as it foams in a drain pipe. Still further, FIG. 3 shows a container 320 with a label 330 that includes an image of a drain clog remover as it travels along a drain pipe.

In a retail environment, it is difficult for a particular product to draw a consumer's attention or otherwise stand out when it is located on a shelf presenting an array of similar products having the same or similar labels. Further, by showing only certain portions of the entire process (i.e., the product entering the drain, the product attacking the clog, and the desired result of the drain beginning to clear), potential purchasers are not provided with a full view of the aforementioned three aspects of a drain clearing process.

FIG. 3 provides an exemplary embodiment of a product label 330 according to the present disclosure. The product label 330 may include indicia 332 illustrating multiple stages of a drain clearing process carried out by the drain cleaner. For example, in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 3, the indicia 332 includes: (1) a first or initialization image 341 depicting a drain cleaner entering a sink opening, which characterizes a first or initialization step in a drain clearing process; (2) a second or activation image 343 depicting a transformation of the drain cleaner from an initial state to an activated state, which characterizes a second or activation step in a drain clearing process; (3) a third or clog-interaction image 345 depicting the drain cleaner engaging or interacting with a clog and/or clog material located in the drain pipe, which characterizes a third or contact step in a drain clearing process; and (4) a clog dissipation image 347 depicting reduction and breaking up of the clog and/or clog material to permit liquid flow through the drain pipe, which characterizes a fourth or clog-removal step in a drain clearing process. One or more product statements 349 may be further provided on the product label 330 that relate to, expand upon, or are otherwise associated with the indicia 332 or one of its images 341, 343, 345, 347.

One or more of the images 341, 343, 345, 347 may include embellished imagery that alters or exaggerates the actual function of the liquid drain cleaner. The embellished imagery may depict an exaggeration of the actual function performed by the liquid drain cleaner, such as showing operation of the drain cleaner on a larger than actual scale. Additionally or alternatively, the embellished imagery may depict a function, process, or condition that is unrelated, impossible, or opposite to the actual nature of the drain cleaner. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, the activation image 343 depicts the drain cleaner turning into flames as it enters the drain pipe.

Embellished Imagery of the Drain Cleaning Process

It is thought that the use of embellished imagery will attract a consumer's attention at-shelf, when product selection is typically made. For example, the use of extreme exaggeration of how the drain cleaner may transform or change states during use, such as turning into fire, lava, lightning, lasers, electricity, tornado, wind, or the like, and combinations thereof, will provide a distinct label that clearly stands out when placed on a shelf with other drain cleaning products having conventional labels.

Further, by providing the embellished imagery in the context of at least three of the four aforementioned steps, when a customer or potential user is faced with an array of products, the potential user's eyes will be drawn to the unusual graphics that stand out against the backdrop of other product packages. It is further thought that once the user's eyes have been drawn to the packaging described herein, the use of multiple images depicting multiple steps of the drain clearing process will then provide the user with a more complete understanding of how the drain cleaner works. For example, it is believed that a product label depicting at least three steps of the drain clog removal process (such as the label 330 of FIG. 3) will provide the user with a better, if not distinct and more memorable, impression of the product, thereby positively influencing the consumer's selection process. More specifically, it is hypothesized that providing the present product label with the illustrated multi-step images, in addition to a portion of the container 320 or at least some portion of the product label 330 itself having a written claim for clearing a drain (FIG. 3, 349), or the like, then the present product label 330 provides consumers temporal or cognitive connections between the image of the product in the pipe (Steps 1 and/or 2), the claim 349, and the results achieved by the product (Step 4).

The product labels disclosed herein are intended to communicate to a consumer one or more mode of operation, quality, feature and/or characteristic of the product prior to purchase. As used herein, the term “communicate” refers to the ability of an image, indicia, or other marking on the label to impress an idea or message upon, or trigger a cognitive response within, a consumer. As such, communication may rely upon a consumer's experience or knowledge to arrive at an intended message. Additionally or alternatively, the image, indicia, or other marking may illustrate simple concepts that are understood at a basic or visceral level that does not require the prior knowledge or experience of a consumer. In any event, the image, indicia, or other marking is cognitively functional in that it conveys a message that is generally capable of being understood by a recipient consumer.

The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the appended claims. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present disclosure so that others skilled in the art may practice it. As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, various modifications can be made within the scope of the aforesaid description. Such modifications being within the ability of one skilled in the art form a part of the present disclosure.

It is noted that terms like “specifically,” preferably,” “typically,” “generally,” and “often” are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter or to imply that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the claimed subject matter. Rather, these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the present disclosure. It is also noted that terms like “substantially” and “about” are utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “50 mm” is intended to mean “about 50 mm.”

All documents cited in the Detailed Description are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to this disclosure. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern. 

1. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover, the packaging system comprising: a) a container b) a product label, wherein the product label includes indicia depicting at least three steps in a drain clog removal process, the three steps being selected from the group consisting of: an initialization step, an activation step, a contact step, and a removal step, each of the at least three steps being depicted in continuation within a single visual image, the container further comprising one or more written claims for clearing a drain, wherein the one or more written claims are directed to the at least three steps shown.
 2. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover according to claim 1, wherein one of the three steps is an activation step.
 3. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover according to claim 2, wherein the activation step is depicted by an activation image comprising embellished imagery, and wherein the embellished imagery is selected from the group consisting of the drain clog remover turning into: fire, lava, lightning, lasers, electricity, tornado, wind, the like, and combinations thereof.
 4. (canceled)
 5. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover according to claim 1 wherein the container further comprises a liquid drain clog remover, the liquid drain clog remover comprising a viscoelastic rheology is an aqueous solution having: (a) an active cleaning compound; (b) a betaine or sulfobetaine having a C₁₄₋₁₈ alkyl group, or a C₁₀₋₁₈ alkylamino or alkylamido group; and (c) an anionic organic counterion.
 6. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover according to claim 5 wherein the container further viscosity of the drain clog remover is from about 20 cP to about 1000 cP.
 7. A packaging system for a liquid drain clog remover according to claim 6 wherein the viscosity of the drain clog remover is from about 50 cP to about 500 cP. 